


Strange Loyalties

by dev0n



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Protective Frank Castle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 05:16:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12646845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dev0n/pseuds/dev0n
Summary: Spider-Man gets a little in over his head when he accidentally ends up at the same crime scene as the Punisher.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about Frank and Peter and this happened. Timeline is... Ambiguous. Who cares. I've never tried writing Peter before, so I hope this turned out okay?
> 
> Not beta'd. Proofread by me.
> 
> Title from Rhinestone Eyes by Gorillaz.

"Hey, Spider-Kid. Hey. You still alive in there?" Someone was patting Peter's face with large but surprisingly gentle hands. He had a rough, monotone voice and smelled of blood and gunpowder. Peter tried to say something in response, but all he managed was a weak groan.

And then there was gunfire. Peter winced, trying to sit up, but it felt like the whole world was spinning around him. That same hand shoved him onto his back again.

"Run," Peter managed to whisper, eyes opening for just a second. The stranger turned away and made a noise that wasn't quite a laugh in response.

Then there was more gunfire that was much, much closer, and Peter blacked out again before he could do anything about it.

\---

Peter awoke for the second time in a bed that was definitely not his own. His hands flew up to his face instinctively; the lower half of his mask had been lifted, presumably to help him breathe, but the rest had been left on, something for which he was immensely grateful.

The computer system within the mask's eyes seemed to have gone offline, but he could still see. Peter started to sit up, but winced when the movement pulled at something in his side. There was a rip in his suit, and some sort of wound there seemed to have been stitched and bandaged ─ but by whom?

"Jesus, kid, lay down," snapped a voice from the doorway. Peter looked up at him quickly, eyes wide. "I've been waiting to run into your stupid ass, but I didn't think it'd be in the middle of a goddamn drug trade. That's way above your pay grade, Spider-Kid."

"You ─ you're the Punisher," Peter realized, eyes wide. The man had clearly taken off his body armor, but Peter recognized his face from the TV. Frank Castle had been all over the news for months.

"Yes," Frank drawled slowly, looking mildly amused as he sat down at his tool bench. Oh, wow. Those were a lot of guns.

Peter watched for a moment as Frank started to take apart and clean one of his sleek black pistols. "Spider- _Man_ ," he corrected belatedly. Frank glanced up at him for half a second, then snorted.

"'Man', my ass. No way you're even out of high school."

"Hey!" Peter protested, starting to sit up again. "You must have seen me on the news! I, I've done a lot of─"

"Lay _down_ ," Frank growled, and Peter glared at him defiantly for a moment before laying back down. Probably best not to defy a man with a gun in his hand. Even if said gun-holding man had just brought Peter back to his... Lair... To stitch him up. Speaking of which...

"Where are we?"

"Safe."

"That's not a place, last time I checked."

Frank glowered at Peter, pointedly clicking the last piece of the pistol in place. He set that one aside and pulled another one closer. "One of my safe houses in the city. It'll be gone by the time you leave and can come back, so don't bother trying anything cute."

Honestly, Peter hadn't even thought of it. He shrugged awkwardly, pulling the lower half of his mask back down over his face.

"Why didn't you take it off?"

"Don't give a shit who you are, Spider-Kid. I know you hero types get your panties in a wad when people see you without your masks."

Frank wasn't wrong. Peter nodded a little. "Well, um. Thank you." There was silence for another few moments, then Peter asked, "Why am I here? I mean, like, why did you help me?"

Frank sighed, setting the gun aside and turning on his stool to look at Peter. "You were in way over your head back there, kid. I had a handle on it. I wasn't gonna let you get yourself killed. You got grazed by a bullet there. Almost took another to the thigh. Then you got your ass knocked out by a grenade blast, which ─ admittedly might have been my grenade..." Frank grimaced, rubbing a hand over his face. "Point is, you needed medical help, and if I brought you to a hospital, I knew your whole secret identity thing would be blown. And you're just a stupid kid. I wasn't gonna leave you there for the cops to find."

"I'm not a stupid kid!" Peter protested. Frank just shook his head minutely. "I know I mess up sometimes, but I do my best! Mr. Stark thinks ─" Peter realized he made a mistake when Frank's head jerked up sharply. Uh oh.

_"Tony Stark?"_ Frank hissed. "That's where you got that tech, huh? Thought it was a little too fancy-lookin' for some kid in Queens."

"N-no, I ─"

"Don't bullshit me. Tony Stark is letting goddamn _kids_ do the jobs that're _below_ him."

"No!" Peter insisted, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "It's not like that! Mr. Stark has been really helpful! I have these abilities, Mr. Castle, it'd be wrong of me not to use them ─"

" _Lay down,_ " Frank commanded sharply for the third time in as many minutes. "It's gonna be a lot more unpleasant for both of us if I have to redo those stitches while you're awake. How old are you?"

Peter made a frustrated noise, but once again, he did as he was told. "Eighteen," he replied, scowling.

Frank snorted, leaning back against his workbench. "Try again."

Peter glared at him for a moment. Frank raised his eyebrows slightly, utterly unimpressed. Peter sighed and ran a hand over his face. "... I'm sixteen in three weeks," he muttered.

Frank let out a colorful string of curses, slamming his fist down on the table. It made Peter flinch, which Frank must have caught out of the corner of his eye, because he immediately composed himself once more. Peter could still see the rage burning in his eyes, though, and it was terrifying. Not necessarily for _him,_ but ─ Peter had the sinking feeling that even Iron Man might have something to fear when it came to the Punisher.

"Ruining half of New York, then throwing money at the problem like that'll make everything better... That wasn't enough for him, huh? He has to have you out there on the streets risking your life because he can't get off his goddamn ass, and God knows how many other kids he has out there ─"

"Mr. Stark was helping, okay? He knew I was going to do what I do whether he helped me or not. Giving me tech like this, it, it's helped me out a lot. It's saved lives, Mr. Castle."

"It doesn't matter if you have powers or not, Spider-Kid, what Stark is doing is fucked up." Frank shook his head. "I should know better by now than to try arguing with you hero types about anything involving morals," he muttered, turning to face his workbench again. Peter could still practically feel the rage coming off of him in waves. "Rest, kid. I called someone that'll help you back to Queens in a bit. He's a lot stealthier than me."

Peter wanted to argue, but all the fight seemed to have drained out of him, leaving only exhaustion once more. "Okay," he sighed, eyes closing of their own accord. "Thank you, Mr. Castle."

There was something soft in Frank's voice when he replied, quietly enough that most people probably wouldn't hear it, "No problem, kiddo."

It wasn't until that moment that Peter realized why Frank was behaving so bizarrely protective. _Of course he's protective of kids,_ Peter thought as he fell into a sort of half-asleep haze.

_He lost his own._


	2. Chapter 2

"This is the law office of Nelson and Murdock, Karen speaking."

Frank smiled ever-so-slightly at Karen's chipper customer service voice. "Karen," he said simply.

Karen paused for a moment, then huffed irritably. Her voice lower and much less cheerful than it had been, she whispered, "Frank, why are you calling the office?!"

"I need to talk to Murdock. Don't exactly have his cell on speed dial. Too much trouble to hack into shit and find it."

Karen hesitated again, then sighed. "I'll put you through. You got lucky. It's late, he's usually gone by now." She waited a couple beats, then asked, "Do you need _Matt,_ or do you need..."

"The other guy," Frank confirmed wryly. He glanced over to the gangly, masked, unconscious vigilante sprawled on his cot. "It's important."

"... Right. Well. Don't get my boss killed, or I'll kill you."

Frank heard a noise in the background, followed by Matt's voice; he was clearly speaking from a distance.

"Karen, is that who I think it is?" Matt sighed.

"Probably," Karen replied in the same resigned tone.

"Oh, just pick up the phone, Murdock," Frank growled. There were a couple of clicks, and then the sound of the phone being picked up again.

"What do you want, Castle? I have a lot on my plate right now."

"I just need you to walk..." Frank paused, glancing over to the Spider-Kid again. "Maybe carry? This kid back to his neighborhood. He got caught up in one of my drug ring busts, and..."

"Kid?" Matt repeated slowly. Frank could hear the anger dropping from each carefully measured syllable. "You let a _kid_ get injured in your crossfi─"

"I didn't _let_ him do anything! Don't be fuckin' stupid, Murdock, you _know_ I wouldn't risk innocent lives!" The Spider-Kid stirred a little. Frank got up, walking out into the stairwell and closing the door partway. "It's that stupid fuckin' ─ the Spider-Kid. Tries calling himself 'Spider-Man', but he's gotta be in high school. He swung in out of fuckin' nowhere. Got grazed by a bullet, then knocked out by the blast from one of my grenades."

Matt growled under his breath. "You shouldn't have ─"

"I don't have super senses, asshole, how was I supposed to know he was coming?" Frank interrupted. "I did what I could. He's safe, I stitched him up, and now I need you to bring him back to Queens. As close to his home as he'll let you get. Okay?"

"Fine," Matt hissed, and he slammed down the phone. Frank sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He slid his phone into his pocket, then re-entered the room just in time to see the Spider-Kid trying to get out of bed.

"Jesus, kid, lay down."

\---

Matt had better things to do with his night than do favors for Frank Castle.

He suited up and headed out to the address Frank had given him, pausing only to stop a mugging along the way. Matt let himself in without bothering to knock. Frank tensed slightly, but Spider-Man only seemed awed.

"You're Daredevil! You're friends with the Punisher?"

"We're not friends," Matt and Frank said at the same time. Frank shot Matt a glare. Matt pretended to do the same.

"Alright, slumber party's over. You better get outta here so I can relocate," Frank grunted, getting to his feet. He'd already started packing up his guns before he'd even called Matt, it seemed.

"Frank ─"

"What, Red?" Frank tossed Matt a smirk over his shoulder that he probably assumed Matt couldn't sense. "You wanna braid each others' hair and talk about boys?"

 _"Frank."_ Matt rolled his eyes exasperatedly, moving his head along with it so Frank could see. "We're going to talk about this."

"Not in front of the children," Frank admonished mockingly. "Later. If you can find me."

"You're about as subtle as a brick to the face, Frank. I can always find you."

"Then why am I not in prison yet?"

"Definitely not because of your sparkling personality."

"Um, guys?" Both men turned to Spider-Man, who was looking between the two of them with (obviously) an unreadable expression. His voice was tinted with pain and amusement. "I'd kind of like to go home now, if it's no trouble? I heal really fast, but it hurts twice as much."

Matt flushed. He couldn't even blame it entirely on Frank this time. "Of course. I'm sorry." He went over to the bed and held a hand out to Spider-Man. Matt helped him up to his feet, holding onto his arm as he took a step forward. "Can you walk by yourself?"

"I think so," Spider-Man nodded. "But I don't know if I can swing home, which is really inconvenient, because ─"

"We'll figure it out," Matt interrupted. "Let's get out of here." To Frank, he said, "I'm not done with you yet, Frank. Stay put."

"Make me," Frank replied childishly without bothering to turn and look.

"Mr. Castle?" Spider-Man said, stopping Matt before they reached the door. This time, Frank did turn to look, arching an eyebrow wordlessly. "I just wanted to say, um... Thank you. Really. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you when you told me to get out of the way."

"Don't sweat it," Frank replied, something in his expression softening minutely. "I think you learned your lesson. Take care of yourself, Spider-Kid."

"Spider-Man."

"Yeah, right. Maybe in a few years." Spider-Man was definitely glaring at him from under the mask. Frank pretended not to notice. "You two get outta here."

"See you around, Mr. Castle," Spider-Man sighed.

\---

"Are you sleeping with the Punisher?" Spider-Man blurted as they neared Queens. Matt actually stumbled as they crossed the gravel roof. His face, he knew, was probably flushing beneath the mask.

"Am I...? What? No. Why would you even ask me that?" Matt snapped. Spider-Man, to his credit, hardly even flinched.

"Okay, okay, jeez! It's just... How you act, I guess." Spider-Man shrugged. "You care about him, though?"

Matt scowled. "I'm not having this conversation."

"Is that a yes?"

_"Spider-Man."_

"Okay, okay! Sorry."

They crossed the next roof in relative silence, Matt keeping a close ear on Spider-Man's health. After two more, Matt finally bit out an admission. "I... Sympathize with him. Maybe even empathize. He's a good man underneath all of the..."

"Kevlar and spray-paint and guns and blood?" Spider-Man supplied helpfully. Matt snorted and nodded.

"Yeah, that. But it's not a ─ a sexual thing. Or a romantic one." Matt hated the way he could hear his own heart skip a beat in his chest when he lied.

"Okay," Spider-Man replied dubiously.

"It's _not,"_ Matt insisted.

"No offense, Daredevil, but you're trying way too hard to convince me."

"I..." Maybe Spider-Man had a point. Matt huffed out an irritated breath. "We're done with this conversation. Are we close enough to your home yet?"

"Oh." Spider-Man seemed startled. "Actually, yeah. Way closer than I wanted to get with you here. No offense, it's just, you know..."

"Secret identity. I understand."

Spider-Man relaxed slightly. "Thank you for your help, Daredevil. If you ever need a hand over in Hell's Kitchen..."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Matt held out a hand; Spider-Man accepted and shook it.

"I'll see you around, Spider-Man."

"See you around." Spider-Man headed for the edge of the roof. "And hey, Daredevil?"

Matt tilted his head questioningly.

"I think Mr. Castle cares about you, too. Maybe having good things in his life would make him less..." Spider-Man gestured vaguely. Matt still somehow got the impression he was trying to give.

"I'll keep that in mind," Matt said again, and surprisingly, he meant it. "Take care."

"You too." Spider-Man saluted him and dropped from the side of the building, swinging off in a direction that Matt carefully didn't pay attention to. He could and would respect the kid's right to a private identity, even if he was just that ─ a kid. Matt sighed and rolled his neck, then set off at a run back in the direction they'd just come.

He knew Frank would still be at the safehouse.


End file.
